Scott B. Van Broekhoven

Scott B. Van Broekhoven is an assistant head of the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Tactical Systems Division at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

Van Broekhoven joined Lincoln Laboratory in 2001 as assistant staff in the Optical Systems Engineering Group. He initially focused on early Laboratory biodefense analysis and testing, becoming a nationally recognized expert in modeling air flow for large buildings. In 2003, he moved to the Aerospace Engineering Group, leading the mechanical engineering team for the Midcourse Fly-Away Sensor Package, a suborbital space payload developed for the Missile Defense Agency. After completing his graduate work through the Lincoln Scholars Program, Van Broekhoven was promoted to associate staff in 2008 and technical staff in 2009, when he transitioned to the newly formed Rapid Prototyping Group. In 2013, Van Broekhoven was promoted to assistant leader of this group, where he oversaw a wide range of research and development programs encompassing small satellites and novel deployable air vehicles and payload systems. Van Broekhoven led a complex airborne deployment program for radar calibration devices and went on to develop and spearhead the initial stages of the Perdix deployable micro uncrewed aerial vehicle system for the Strategic Capabilities Office. Both projects received Laboratory Team Awards. 

In 2015, Van Broekhoven became the founding leader of the Energy Systems Group, which developed approaches for improving the resiliency of domestic and tactical power grids. Van Broekhoven helped begin some of the Laboratory's initial work on Department of Defense microgrids and novel energy storage systems. From 2017 to 2024, Van Broekhoven served as leader of the Advanced Capabilities and Systems Group, overseeing a broad portfolio of projects ranging from the analysis and prototyping of tactical military signals intelligence and radar systems to the investigation of novel sensing, navigation, and autonomous systems. More recently, Van Broekhoven led the Laboratory’s U.S. European Command task force focused on rapidly identifying and transitioning capabilities to assist U.S. forces and their leaders in the challenging European theater.  

In recognition of his technical achievements, Van Broekhoven received an Early Career Technical Achievement Award in 2014. Van Broekhoven has actively participated in Laboratory studies and committees. He has championed and helped establish multiple Beaver Works research collaborations, senior design projects, and educational programs with MIT campus. He is a major supporter of the Beaver Works Summer Institute and a variety of associated STEM challenges and online courses. Van Broekhoven earned a BS degree in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University in 2001 and an MS degree in systems engineering from MIT in 2008.